Iraq

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Rebel Kurds Defy Turks, US
Rebel Kurds Defy Turks, US

Rebel Kurds Defy Turks, US

Rebel group leader vows 'no surrender' against Turkey or US

(Newser) - The leadership of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the rebel group based in northern Iraq that the United States considers a terrorist organization, has spoken out to warn of resistance to any Turkish cross-border incursion. In a report by a pro-Kurdish news agency, a leading PKK commander warned that his group...

Pentagon, Congress Play Chicken Over Iraq Funds

Layoffs threatened; Dems unmoved

(Newser) - The Pentagon is threatening as many as 200,000 civilian layoffs by Christmas if war funding isn't approved by Congress, but Dems say there will be no funding until Bush sets withdrawal dates for Iraq. "Both sides are playing a big game of chicken here," a Congressional budget...

Showdown Looms on War Funds
Showdown Looms on War Funds

Showdown Looms on War Funds

Pentagon warns of 200,000 layoffs without bucks

(Newser) - A showdown is rapidly approaching between Congress and the White House over funding for the Iraq war. The Pentagon has warned that up to 200,000 contractors and civilian employees may be laid off by Christmas unless Congress acts on a $196 billion request for war funds, reports the Washington ...

Grand Jury Calls Guards —but Not Shooters

Blackwater guards give State Dept. conflicting accounts of shootings

(Newser) - A federal grand jury investigating the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians by Blackwater security guards has called guards who were present at the September incident to testify—but not the five who admit firing their weapons, sources told ABC News. Twelve other guards were said to be present at the...

Baghdad Safe Again, Says Iraq
Baghdad Safe Again, Says Iraq

Baghdad Safe Again, Says Iraq

Fall in violence trigger optimism from Iraqi government

(Newser) - A sharp drop in violence in Baghdad led Iraqi government officials to express confidence yesterday that the worst is over, reports the Los Angeles Times. While violence remains high, bombings, street fighting, and abductions are down, as are fears of a civil war. US officials urged Iraq's government to take...

Military: AP Photog Linked to Insurgents

New evidence surfaces implicating journalist held since 2006

(Newser) - The US military says it has evidence that an Iraqi photographer who works for AP is connected with the anti-American insurgency, CNN reports. Bilal Hussein Zaidon has been in custody since April 2006 and will face trial in the Iraqi court system. The Pentagon did not specify the charges but...

MTV Banks on Vice Video
MTV Banks
on Vice Video

MTV Banks on Vice Video

Online VBS.tv sticks with mag’s ‘raw’ aesthetic, is a training ground for TV content

(Newser) - MTV has put its hippest foot forward with VBS.tv, the online video channel run by Vice magazine’s editors. The web presence, originally pitched as “‘60 Minutes’ meets ‘Jackass,’” is a toehold in youth web programming, the Times reports. “Our aesthetic is raw,...

Petraeus Comes Home to Pick New Generals

Army needs his help finding innovative leaders—like him

(Newser) - David Petraeus is returning to Washington this week to help select the next generation of generals, an unusual move highlighting the Army’s desperation to inject Petraeus-style unconventional thinkers into its leadership, the Washington Post reports. “It's unprecedented for the commander of an active theater to be brought back...

US Won’t Force Diplomats to Serve in Iraq

Volunteer officers step forward to fill last open spots

(Newser) - The State Department won’t have to assign diplomats to open posts in Iraq because enough staff members have volunteered for the spots, the AP reports. The department planned to require foreign service officers to serve at the US embassy in Baghdad and in nearby provinces if there weren’t...

House OKs War Funds Tied to Troop Withdrawal

Bush promises veto, but measure expected to fail in Senate

(Newser) - The House tonight defied President Bush and tied a $50 billion bill to fund the war in Iraq to a timetable for troop withdrawal. The measure, which passed 218-203, is not expected to make it out of the Senate. If it does, however, Bush has promised to veto it. The...

Blackwater Investigator's Brother Has Ties to Firm

State Dept. official steps aside after admitting "ugly rumors" are true

(Newser) - The State Department’s top official investigating Blackwater withdrew from the probe today after a dramatic admission that his brother has links to the private security contractor. At a congressional hearing, Howard Krongard initially called the alleged ties “ugly rumors,” but after a recess during which he called...

Vets' Mental Issues Slow to Surface: Study

Troops more likely to report disorders 3-6 months after return from combat

(Newser) - US troops report worse mental health several months after returning from Iraq than immediately after getting home, an Army study shows. Upon return home, one general said, “you’re almost euphoric,” but later “the stress starts to resurface.” The study also found that National Guard reservists...

14 of 17 Blackwater Killings Unjustified: FBI

But prosecution of guards responsible may be stymied by immunity guarantees

(Newser) - Fourteen of the 17 Iraqi civilians Blackwater guards killed at a busy Baghdad intersection in September were unjustified shootings, FBI investigators have concluded. Three deaths—including a mother and son in a car—could be considered a valid use of lethal force in response to a perceived threat, the New ...

Dems: Hidden Costs Double Price of War

$1.5T price tag on Iraq, Afghanistan tallies to $20,000 per family

(Newser) - The costs of waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan is actually $1.5 trillion, Democrats say in a report out today—far above the $802 billion spent or appropriated by Congress. Citing "hidden costs" such as higher oil prices, veterans' care, and interest on war debt, the report estimates...

US Begins Surge Reversal
US Begins Surge Reversal

US Begins Surge Reversal

One brigade is heading home; others will follow in coming months

(Newser) - The US is slowly beginning to reduce the number of troops deployed in Iraq, the first real test of whether the surge has been effective, the AP says. One of 20 combat brigades is heading home now, and another four will leave by July, dropping the number of troops in...

Turkish Gunships Strike Kurdish Outpost in Iraq

Turkish Prime Minister warned a strike was 'nearing'

(Newser) - Turkish helicopter gunships have struck a suspected Kurdish guerrilla base inside the Iraqi border, AP is reporting. Turks targeted an area near the town of Zakho before dawn today. Iraqi officials said there were no casualties in the attacks on what they characterized as "abandoned villages"  that housed...

Guards Kill Baghdad Taxi Driver
Guards Kill Baghdad
Taxi Driver

Guards Kill Baghdad Taxi Driver

Workers for security contractor accused of unprovoked slaying

(Newser) - A convoy run by American security contractor DynCorp International shot and killed an Iraqi taxi driver on a Baghdad roadside Saturday, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said yesterday. “They just killed a man and drove away,” said a spokesman. Witnesses said the driver posed no apparent threat; an Iraqi...

Iraq: US Stalling on 3 Executions
Iraq: US Stalling on 3 Executions

Iraq: US Stalling on 3 Executions

Says 'Chemical Ali', 2 others should be handed over to hang

(Newser) - US forces have yet to hand over three prominent figures in Saddam Hussein's regime sentenced to death in September, and Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki is accusing the US of dragging its feet—not to mention violating the constitution.  Though "Chemical Ali" is the star of the three, the...

US Finding More Iranian Arms in Iraq

Easing tensions between Washington and Tehran not stemming weapons flow

(Newser) - US soldiers are finding more Iranian weaponry in Iraq than ever before, despite an apparent easing of tensions between Washington and Tehran, Reuters reports. Iran has vowed to stop funneling armor-piercing explosives into Iraq, and such attacks are down, but Iran is still exerting extensive influence in Iraq, a top...

US Probes Hemorrhage of Yank Arms in Iraq 'Bazaar'

190,000 guns gone as arms sold 'by truckload'

(Newser) - An Iraqi businessman charged with distributing American guns to Iraqi policemen turned the cache into a personal arms bazaar in 2004-2005, selling massive amounts of weapons to foreign security guards, Iraqi militias and US contractors, reports the New York Times. “This was the craziest thing in the world,”...

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